


Requiem for the Beloved

by Forsaken Xenon (xx_Katastrophe)



Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Anger, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Separation Anxiety, parental figure loss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27953168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xx_Katastrophe/pseuds/Forsaken%20Xenon
Summary: When tragedy strikes, The Warners have similar reactions that manifest in different ways.
Relationships: Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner, Dr. Otto Scratchansniff & Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner
Comments: 16
Kudos: 128





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> :) thanks for clicking on this story. i apologize that this first chapter isnt quite the banger i had planned, but honestly i didn't quite have that much planned for it (plus im still getting used to writing the warners themselves, as this is my second fanfiction for the show, haha) 
> 
> a lot of how the warners are portrayed here is based on my own experiences with this subject, with each of the siblings representing a different facet. with that being said, i hope you enjoy.

It all started with the ringing of the phone. The brothers were pitted against each other in a racing game, while their sister was sitting in her bed, reading a romance novel. The phone sounded, and all three Warners dropped what they were doing and shouted, “I’ll get it!” They scrambled to the phone, with a bit of shoving, toe-stepping and even biting courtesy of Dot. Of course Yakko got it this time, much to the annoyance of his younger brother and sister. 

“Hello, you’ve reached the Warners, Yakko speaking.” He answered, with a smug, victorious grin. His demeanor changed in a snap, as Wakko and Dot looked at each other in confusion. “Yeah, we’ll be right there, Miss Norita.” He hung up the phone and turned to his younger siblings, “Come on sibs, the CEO wants to talk to us.” 

Wakko grinned, “Is she finally going to let us have our own movie?” 

“I don’t think so, Wakko… she didn’t sound too happy.” Yakko replied casually as he headed toward the water tower door. 

“But she’s always like that. She’s really serious.” Dot commented, as she followed Yakko to the door. Wakko was behind them both. 

“Yeah, but this time it was different… I can’t really explain why. Let’s go see what she wants.” He looked a bit concerned. The younger siblings simply looked at each other as they followed their big brother down to the ground. They walked across the lot, to the CEO’s office. They looked around and observed the stars and studio employees on the lot. Yakko felt a strange energy from some of them. They seemed a bit upset, but otherwise, it was mostly normal. Perhaps it was just an off day for the few sad faces he’d seen around. He didn’t think much of it as they entered the executives building where the CEO’s office was. When the Warners arrived in Nora’s office, they were greeted with not just her sitting at her desk, but Ralph was there too, and the three of them definitely knew something wasn’t right. She looked more serious than usual, and Ralph knew something they didn’t. 

“Welcome. Have a seat.” Miss Norita gestured to the siblings. They took their seats in front of her desk. The CEO sighed as she leaned on her elbows. “I called you in here as we’ve received some devastating news this morning. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Doctor Scratchansniff passed away last night rather unexpectedly.” She didn’t know the kids very well, but she certainly didn’t feel joy seeing their hearts shatter. Their faces as their eyes grew watery.

“Wh… what? But he was just fine last week!” Wakko spoke first, growing more upset with each word. His lower lip quivered. 

“Yes, however death can come when we least expect it.” Nora replied. 

Yakko nodded as he was trying to force his sadness into a dark recess in his brain. Dot was visibly teary, and Wakko offered her a handkerchief- one of hers that he had stolen. After she gave him a nasty look for taking her handkerchief, she used it to dry her eyes. Yakko patted her back as looked at Miss Norita. “...Are we allowed to go to the funeral? To say goodbye.” 

“Of course. We’ll let you know.” She replied. 

Dot wanted to leave. Wakko looked uncomfortable, and Yakko was feeling a trife uncomfortable himself. “...Thanks for letting us know, Miss Norita. Come on guys.” He gestured for them to get up. Dot sniffled as she pulled herself to her feet. Ralph and Nora watched, their hearts a bit heavy as they saw the normally cheerful, wild, and spunky toons turn into just the opposite. Dot felt her brother’s arms around her shoulders, as they quietly exited the CEO’s office. She clung to them tightly, but as soon as the office door closed, her sadness burst like a stressed dam, and she began to cry. She put her hands to her face, and her brothers held her tighter. 

“I know, sis… I know…” Yakko whispered to her, his voice cracking as he tried to swallow his tears. Wakko didn’t say anything, but simply leaned his head against her. 

“Did we…” She sniffled, “Did we overdo it last time we saw him?” She asked. 

“No, of course not…” His voice trailed off, looking over to Wakko. The brothers simply looked at each other, trying their best to ignore the looming guilt that their sister had stirred within them. “We really should get back…” He suggested. The younger siblings agreed, and Wakko offered to give his little sister a piggyback ride- an offer she graciously accepted. Once they returned to their home, the three of them sat on the couch. The younger siblings leaned against their older brother, as he held them close. They didn’t say anything, but the energy among them was quite obvious. After a few minutes of them sulking, Wakko finally posed the question, “Why did Scratchy have to die, Yakko?” 

Truthfully, even Yakko didn’t have the answer. He simply replied, “Well… he’s a human, Wakko. Humans die. Toons don’t.” 

“But… why did it have to be now?” Dot asked, as her eyes teared up again. Yakko looked at her, using a thumb to dry her eyes.

“Well… I guess it was just his time…” He said, as he hugged them both tighter to him. Both of the younger siblings were in tears, as he felt them soaking into him. He let them cry, and he cried with them. He could feel them shaking like leaves as their sobbing grew more intense. He felt helpless- his little brother and sister were hurting and there wasn’t anything he could do to make it better. He was hurting too, and hardly knew how to make his own hurt softer. One thing he did know, however, was that they would get through this together, as a family. 

“Do you think he knows we loved him…?” Wakko asked, sniffling as he looked up at Yakko. 

“Of course he did. We told him we loved him...” 

“I…” Dot hiccuped, “I wish I got a chance to say sorry for being so annoying all the time…” 

The boys immediately pulled her into a hug as she buried her face into Wakko’s shoulder. 

“I know, sis… me too.” Yakko replied.

Wakko rested his head against hers. “Me three.” 

She glanced at both of them, before shifting herself to be resting against them both. They let themselves cuddle each other for comfort. After absorbing some serotonin, Yakko perked up. Wakko and Dot looked up at him. “You know what, guys? It’ll be okay.” The oldest assured them, patting their backs comfortingly. 

The younger ones looked at each other. “It will?” Wakko asked. 

“Yep. We’ll be here for each other through this, right?” Yakko received quiet nods in response. “And… maybe we can do something to take our minds off of it for a bit?” 

“Like what?” Dot asked curiously. 

“I was thinking maybe we can go get some candy?” He proposed, and was given excited faces in response. He took that as a “yes”. Dot and Wakko immediately sprang to their feet, excitedly rushing over to the door. Yakko followed behind him. Obviously, the sweets would just be a temporary source of happiness, but the best they could do was help and support each other. The bond of siblings is one of the strongest out there, and a tragedy would not break it, but only make it stronger. 


	2. Chapter 2

The night came and proved to be a bit harder than they planned for. Wakko and Dot kept having nightmares, and Yakko just couldn’t sleep- partly because of the younger siblings, but partially of his own dark thoughts looming. He laid in bed, staring at the underside of the bed above him. Everything he tried failed miserably, but especially when the younger siblings decided they wanted to bunk with him. He allowed them, and at least they were able to get some sleep, and eventually, he did fall asleep as well. However, when he woke up, he had a pounding headache. He looked around to see where Dot and Wakko were, as they weren’t on either side of him. When he sat up, he found that his little brother was in the kitchen area, eating a bowl of cereal. His little sister was on the couch, all bundled up in her bathrobe and fast asleep to the sound of some infomercial. The TV was only exasperating the pain in his head. He walked into the bathroom and opened the mirror to see if they had any painkillers. Of course they had some- but it expired back in 1999, which means he’d have to just go and buy a new bottle. 

He got himself ready, brushing his teeth and dressing himself in his normal smoky topaz (not tan) slacks. 

“I’m going to get some ibuprofen. You need anything?” Yakko asked his little brother, who looked to be just as sleepy as he was. 

“Some soda, please. Extra caffeinated.” Wakko suggested, with a yawn. Yakko took note, rubbing his forehead. He fetched a pair of sunglasses, knowing the sunlight would burn. He puts them on. Dot began to stir, yawning. Her eyes opened just in time to watch as Yakko left the water tower. She instantly felt scared, and turned to Wakko. He noticed that she was riddled with fear. “What’s the matter, sis?” 

“What if he doesn’t come back?” She asks, her worry clear in her tone.

“What do you mean?” 

“What if Yakko doesn’t make it back? What if he... ” she paused, “dies?”

He eventually puts two and two together, walks over to her. “Dot, he’ll be okay, I promise.” 

“But how do you know?” She asked as her voice cracked, turning to face him. She looked like she was about to cry. He sat down on the couch. 

“Because he’s just going to get some stuff… He wasn’t feeling well…” noticing that explanation was only scaring her more, he pulls her in for a hug. “He didn’t sleep well and has a headache and just went to go get some painkillers. He should be back within an hour, okay?” She didn’t reply, but held him tightly. He patted her back, and realized that a distraction would help. “How about I go get us some donuts from that gourmet donut store?” 

“Please, don’t go…” She pleaded desperately. He was a tad confused, but then realized the problem. 

“Do you want to come with me? I’ll let you pick the kind of donuts you want.” 

She looked up at him and nodded. A small smile appeared on her face. 

“Okay, then let’s go…” He said, as he lets go of her. Realizing they needed to get ready, the two of them hastily changed into their day clothes. Once they were ready, he walked towards the water tower door, and she followed behind him. Once they got to the ground, Dot stood close to him, before holding his hand securely. He smiled at her sympathetically, as they made their way to the donut shop. It was obvious that she was also very tired as she was yawning softly nearly every few minutes, but she seemed less worried about Yakko being gone already. As they entered the shop, Dot immediately was drawn to the donut case, eyes picking out the “Rainbow Magic” and “Unicorn” donut. The girl at the counter asked them what they’d like. 

“We’d like a dozen donuts.” 

“Okay… and what donuts would you like in that?” 

“I’d like a Rainbow Magic, Unicorn, and Strawberry frosted with sprinkles, please.” Dot said, as she looked at Wakko. “What about you?”

“I’ll take a mashed potatoes with gravy, maple bacon, fried chicken, vanilla with sprinkles, jelly filled, cereal milk, chocolate eclair and buttered popcorn.” The woman nodded, as she grabbed a donut dozen box, and placed all their requested pastries inside. Wakko handed her the money, and in return, handed him the box. He thanked her, before the siblings turned to head back. While they were mostly quiet on the way back, and Wakko was biting back the urge to eat one now, he turned to ask his sister, “Which one will you eat first?” 

She tapped her chin. “Hmm, I think I’ll eat the strawberry one first… that one’s my favorite.” 

He should have figured as much. “Good choice. That Rainbow Magic one looks delicious, too.” 

Dot nodded, finally being at ease as she spotted the water tower, and the Warner Brothers lot just a few feet ahead. Once they stepped onto the lot, she felt safer. But when they entered the tower and Yakko still hadn’t returned, Dot began to panic. 

“Oh no…he’s not back yet. Something bad happened.” Dot began to panic, almost breaking into tears as she breathed heavily. Wakko set the box of donuts down and put his hands on her shoulders. 

“Sis… you have to calm down.” He told her sternly. Her breathing slowed at his command. “He probably got distracted, or had to walk farther than expected. He’s okay, I promise.” Wakko extended a pinkie towards her. Hesitantly, she wrapped her pinkie around his. A stray tear ran down her face as she nodded weakly. He smiled, and released the pinkie promise. He ushered her over to the couch, and sat her down. He brought her the strawberry frosted donut alongside a napkin. When presented with the sweet treat, she looked up at him with a small smile. 

“Thanks, Wakko… you’re really great, even if I don’t tell you that a lot.” Dot said as she took a bite of the donut. 

“Anything for my favorite baby sister.” 

“But I’m your only sister…” 

“Doesn’t mean you still can’t be my favorite sister.” 

She smiled wider at him, eating more of her donut. As he started to eat one of his donuts, he smiled back at her. He was just glad he could make her smile and distract her. He’d have to tell Yakko though. Once she finished the first donut, her hand gravitated towards the rainbow donut. She offered him a bite, which he accepted of course. 

“How does it taste?” 

“Magical. And like glitter.” He replied. They both laugh, as Yakko enters the tower. He smiled at the sight of his younger siblings laughing, and sharing donuts. 

“Ah, I see you two went out while I was gone…” He commented. Dot finally felt like she could breathe again. She got up and ran to her eldest brother, giving him a tight hug. He was caught off guard, but smiled and pats her head. “Nice to see ya too, sis.” 

Dot scrambled back to the couch, sitting back down on it. She turned on the TV, and then continued to eat her rainbow donut. Once she was distracted, Wakko slowly got up and tagged along with Yakko to the bathroom. As the older brother removed the bottle of painkillers from the box, the younger brother looked over his shoulder, and then back to his brother. “I’m worried about Dot.” 

Swallowing the pills with some water, Yakko looked over to see what his sister was up to. She was sitting on the couch watching cartoons and happy as a clam. “Why? She seems fine to me.” 

“Yeah, she’s fine now, but earlier she nearly cried when you left and when we came back from getting donuts, she completely lost it when you weren’t back.”

“...She must be worried about one of us dying. You just have to be understanding and kind, even if you think she’s acting stupid. You seem to have already gotten that covered, though.” 

Wakko smiled. “Yeah, I get it…” 

Yakko flipped the switch off in the bathroom, and walked back to the living room. He sat down beside his sister, and captured her attention. He explained to her that Wakko told him how she was feeling. She was slightly embarrassed, because now having her behavior talked about, she knew she was acting silly. She tried to look away from him, but instead, Yakko just hugged her. 

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, y’know... “ he was cut off by the phone ringing. Instead of the three of them fighting, Yakko simply asked, “Wakko can you get that?” 

Wakko nodded, as he went to answer the phone. Dot leaned against her oldest brother and frowned a little. She looked up at him, “But I was acting stupid.” 

“You were scared, because of what happened to Scratchy. That’s a normal reaction.” 

Dot began to tear up, “The thought of losing you or Wakko really scares me…” She sniffled. Yakko carded his fingers through her hair. 

“Good thing your brother and I won’t be going anywhere. Look, everytime you feel anxious about us when we leave… why don’t you watch a TV show, or read a book? It’ll take your mind off of it and kill time.” 

She nodded, as she wordlessly cuddled up to him. Once his phone call was over, the middle sibling joined his siblings on the couch. “That was Miss CEO. Scratchy’s funeral is going to be Friday.” 

“So… in 3 days?” Yakko asked. 

Wakko nodded. “And, someone from the studio is coming tomorrow, to take us shopping for appropriate clothes at the mall.” 

The oldest and the youngest looked at each other and back to him. “Um, but we’re cartoons… we can just, y’know… spin up some new outfits…” The youngest commented. 

“Yeah, but maybe if we’re super good, we’ll get treats.” Wakko replied. Both he and his sister grinned. 

“Come on guys, let’s not. This is a hard thing for everyone, let’s not make it harder.” Yakko scolded them lightly. 

“You’re right. But if we get offered anything, we can take it, right?” 

“Oh, absolutely. Just let’s not go out of our way to be annoying. Let’s be well behaved…” Yakko suggested.

The younger siblings agreed with him. Wakko then asks, “Yakko, do you think he’s watching us?” 

Taking a moment to ponder, he responds with, “I think so. Which is why we should behave tomorrow.” Yakko put a hand in. “For Scratchy?” 

“For Scratchy.” Wakko and Dot replied, putting their hands in on top of their brother’s, with a smile. 


	3. Chapter 3

That night went a lot better- everyone got a good night’s sleep, with no nightmares and waking each other up. There were some tears from the middle kid, who seemed to be having a particular rough time when they went to bed last night. He seemed to have been in a particularly bad mood. When Dot asked what was wrong, Wakko’s only reply was “Leave me alone”. Dot just kept asking, and Yakko noticed that his younger brother was getting annoyed. He pulled his sister to the side, and told her to just lay off and leave him alone. She argued that he’d just feel better if he talked about it to which he countered her with an explanation that she’d want to be left alone if she were in his shoes. While she thought it was stupid, she backed off. Hopefully a good night’s rest would put everyone in a better mood. 

It was sort of the case. Wakko trudged into the kitchen, looking slightly drowsy as he went to go grab some cereal. Dot was sitting at the table, watching a makeup tutorial on her phone as she was eating cereal. Yakko was eating some toast at the moment, eyes watching his little brother. “Morning, Wakko. How are ya doing?” 

He turned his head. “Fine, I guess.” He replied, pouring himself out a bowl of cereal. As he went to get some milk, Dot paused her video. “When is that lady coming to get us?” 

“Not for another few hours.” Yakko replied with a mouthful of toast. 

The middle sibling placed himself in the seat between his brother and sister, as he dug into his cereal. He was still a bit out of it, mostly just feeling angry and upset. Why was life so unfair? Why did it have to be Scratchansniff? Going on mostly autopilot, he began to eat his cereal, as his siblings’ conversation started to sound more like static in his brain. Once he finished his breakfast, he placed his dishes in the sink, before returning to his bed. He laid down, and buried his face into his pillow. Yakko and Dot look at each other, before walking over to their brother. They sit down beside him, and provide comfort to him. Yakko’s hand currently carding his fur, and Dot hugging him to the best of her ability. 

“You want to talk about it, baby bro?” Yakko asked gently. 

Wakko looked up, tears obviously running down his face as he looked at him. “I… I miss him. It’s not fair.” He sniffled sadly. 

Dot immediately choked up, her lower lip quivering as she looked at her brother. “I miss him too!” She sobbed, as she clung to Wakko. He eventually broke, sobbing into the pillow. Yakko watched. No words he could say could make them feel better and nothing he could do could take away the hurt, so why bother? He sighed, as he placed a hand on each of them. It didn’t last for long, as he heard a knock on the door from a far. He let them go, as he walked over to the tower door. A woman with short brown hair, glasses and dressed in a business suit was standing in front of them. She had a seemingly chipper disposition today. 

“Hi, I’m Ashley and I work for Miss Norita, CEO of Warner Brothers. You must be...” 

“Yakko. My siblings are um…” He didn’t want to out them to her just yet. “Busy. Come in.” He invited the young woman in . She looked around, as Yakko retrieved his sister and brother, who were no longer crying, but more down than usual. They seemed unbothered by the stranger in their water tower. 

Ashley looked at them, “Aw, hello! I’m Ashley.” 

“I’m Wakko.” 

“And I’m Dot.” 

Ashley took a moment to shake their hands. “Nice to meet y’all too. Are y’all ready to go?” 

The Warners nodded, immediately all of them perking up, as they were promised any treat their hearts desired as well. The four of them exited the tower. They all piled into the sedan, and headed to the mall. Once they were parked, the siblings realized that the fresh air really was an improvement to their moods, as Ashley so kindly helped them out of the car. She led them into the mall, entering through one of the anchor stores. Much to the surprise of the Warners, they found themselves in a JC Penney. 

“I didn’t even know JC Penney still existed.” Wakko commented. 

Yakko chuckled, “You’d be surprised at what still exists these days. There’s still a Blockbuster open.” He was met by gasps of astonishment from his siblings.

“No. Way.” Dot had her hands on her face. 

“Yes way. We should go sometime. Maybe after… y’know…” He suggested to them, as they arrived at the kids section of the store. Ashley sent the boys off on their way and escorted Dot to the dress rack. She began to present the little girl with a pixie cut a few options- with ruffles, lace or sparkly bits. Dot wasn’t really sure how to feel about them. They were nice enough, but nothing was standing out… until she spotted a white dress, patterned with black lace and a matching black shawl. She proudly pulled it from the rack, and held it up. 

“How about this one?” Dot suggested. Ashley held up the dress to the girl.

She nodded in approval. “Why, it’s perfect. You’ll look very cute, lil’ miss.”

Dot smiled in turn and hugged the pretty dress close to her. As they walked through the racks of clothes, a small display of hairbows caught her eye. A pastel pink bow caught her eye, and then she stopped to look at it. “Miss Ashley?” Dot called. The woman stopped and turned around.

“Yes?” 

“Can I get this hairbow? Pretty please?” She asked politely, holding up the hair accessory. 

Ashley simply smiled. “Of course, doll. It’ll make you look even cuter.” 

The young girl was happy, as the two of them set off to hopefully find the boys. Hopefully they didn’t have too much trouble picking out a nice suit for the occasion. Much to their dismay, the boys had not picked out a suit, and instead were too busy trying on goofy outfits and pranking the other shoppers and kids. Dot rolled her eyes and pretended to hide away, but Ashely was far more understanding and compassionate towards the boys. She approached them. 

“Now boys… you know we’re supposed to be shopping for nice clothes. Not pranking other shoppers and picking out silly clothes. Come on now.” She reminded them in a firm manner. The brothers sighed, as she led them towards a more appropriate clothing selection. From afar, Dot watched as the woman kindly helped the boys picking out a new suit. Eventually, the brothers settled on black ones with a white shirt, in true matching fashion. They chose different tie colors, Yakko settling on dark blue, and Wakko favoring a sky blue one. As promised, the Warners were rewarded for their (mostly) good behavior. As they exited the Macy’s and into the main part of the mall, Ashley promised that she would let them get any treat they wanted, be it ice cream or two pounds of candy. Wakko’s seemingly never-ending hunger and quest to try new things lead the group to a bubble tea shop. His choice proved to be quite popular, as Dot and Yakko also wanted to try this bizarre dessert they’ve never heard of.

Looking over the rather expansive menu of flavors, they each settled on a drink. Dot went with a strawberry milk tea, Yakko sticking to the traditional tea, Wakko getting some sort of Oreo tea and Ashely selecting a honey green tea, each of them sticking with normal tapioca as their “topping”. When they received their drinks, Yakko took a look. It looked good, but he then asked, “Why’s it called a topping? It’s all at the bottom.” 

Dot had stopped drinking for just a second. “Well, why do you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?” 

Yakko sipped his tea, “...How is that relevant?” 

“It’s not, but it's the same logic… The inventors got a bit confused.” Dot calmly replied. They hadn’t even noticed Wakko gulping down the contents of the drink, before eating the cup and straw. Ashley couldn’t even stop him from doing so.

“For the love of-- Don’t eat those!” She scolded Wakko. 

“Sorry… but I’m hungry.” He complained. Dot and Yakko rolled their eyes at his complaint. Their babysitter for the afternoon took a look at her watch- it was getting close to lunch, so of course, she was going to feed them. They begged her for Happy Meals- something she would not have preferred to feed them. Who was she to deny three kids who were obviously hurting? She agreed, which obviously made them happy, as they gave her one big hug. She got them their happy meals, which the young kids happily ate. After lunch, it was time for them to return to the lot, at the discretion of Miss Norita’s bomb of text messages. She assured her boss that they were coming back, post haste. Ashley booked it back to the studio, and helped the kids out of the car with their clothes. As much as she wanted to stay, she’d rather not face the wrath of her angry boss. They said their goodbyes, and the Warners scaled the water tower with their nice clothes in tow. 

After hanging up their clothes, the siblings split away to take a moment to decompress and relax. Yakko retreated to the ball pit and burrowed under the balls. Dot tuned in to her MP3 player and magazine on her bed, and reclined against her pillows. Wakko took over the couch and put on a Don Knotts movie, for old times sake. He loved this movie, but this time around, it just felt lackluster. Had he watched it too many times and it ruined the experience for him? Or was he just upset? Yeah, he had fun earlier but it just wasn’t the same as it was when Scratchy would take them to do things. Even watching this movie felt different, and he couldn’t pinpoint why. It’s not like he watched this movie with him. He turned away from the television, and before he closed his eyes. He awoke sometime later, to Yakko with a pizza. Wakko sat up and rubbed his eyes. 

‘“Ah, you’re awake. Want some pizza?” Yakko offered. Dot looked over as well, smiling a bit as she was eating her pizza. Wakko sighed and looked away. 

“No thanks…” He mumbled. His response left his siblings floored- he never turned down food. Yakko immediately went to join his brother. 

“C’mon Wakko, you need to eat something…”

Wakko looked at his brother. “I’m not hungry…” 

“Come on, something’s bothering you… tell me.” 

Wakko grabbed the hem of his shirt. “What was the point of Scratchy going?! He just made us sad! It’s not fair!” He complained. 

Surprised with the outburst, Yakko patted his shoulder. “He didn’t choose death, Wakko… you know that. I know it’s not fair.” 

“But then why did it happen?” 

“Because…” Yakko hesitated, “Because everything happens for a reason.” 

Wakko grew angrier. “Well, I don’t see any reason  _ why _ this should have happened!” 

“Hey hey… Wakko, relax…” Yakko said firmly. Wakko’s anger softened, before dissolving. It was replaced with shame. 

He looked away from his brother. “I’m sorry.” 

Thankfully, Yakko was very understanding. “It’s okay, bro… It’s a lot.”

  
  


Dot soon joined them, bringing two slices of pizza with her. She looked at her brother. “You want a slice now?” She gently asks. 

Wakko nodded, as he took a slice of pizza from the plate. He thanked her, as he began to chow down. He was feeling a bit better now- perhaps he was hungry and he needed the pizza. After eating the pizza, they decided to watch some TV. Through some convoluted methods of decisions, Dot ended up selecting the show- and she chose a new cartoon that she had watched a few episodes of- Marvelous Ladybeetle. To her brothers, it sounded like another silly, girly show, but were fondly surprised that it was actually much cooler than that. They had managed to go through five episodes of the show before it was bedtime. Once they had cleaned up their mess in the kitchen, and turned off the TV, they washed up and then got settled into bed. 

Hours pass by, and Dot found herself lying awake. Something felt off and a sense of despair in her. Yakko was asleep, and seeing that this question was about him, she turned to Wakko. She shuffled around, before poking her head up. “Wakko?” She whispered gently. 

Wakko turned over and noticed that his sister was peering over at him from the side of the bed. “Yeah?” He asked. 

“Can I talk to you about something? I can’t sleep…”

He nodded, and helped her up onto his bed. She laid beside him as she sighed softly. “I’m worried about Yakko. He’s been acting really… tired, and lifeless.”

Wakko hadn’t really noticed, but now that she mentioned it, he did notice his older brother seemed to be a bit more drained earlier. Maybe it was because of them. “Is it because of us? Maybe we’re being too much for him…” 

“Maybe, but I think he’s bottling up his feelings and trying to put us first…” 

“Oh… you’re probably right. Maybe we should talk to him about it…” 

“Well, we can’t make him talk. I guess we should just give him some space.” 

“How about we do both? Maybe leave him alone for a while and then ask him questions.” 

She smiled. “That sounds good… I’m sorry for bothering you but I’m really worried about him.” 

“I know. Now, let’s get some sleep, okay? You can sleep here if you’d like.” 

“Thank you… Good night.” She yawned. 

“Rest easy, sis.” Wakko replied, eyes slowly falling shut as he finally fell asleep.


End file.
